There are a number of ways to manage your working capital better, so you can  'squeeze a quart from a pint pot'.  I'll discuss a few of these here.

Credit Cards

If you've made your mind up that skydiving is definitely for you, then you've got some options. You can pull the cash out of your piggy bank, but if its like mine it probably got emptied ages ago. You could win the lottery... erm ok, lets move on. You could sell something (we suggest you avoid kidneys, body parts and children). Car boot sales are good for this, and there's something very satisfying about clearing out stuff you don't use anymore  to do something new with it. Of course ebay is even more convenient.

Loading up the plastic friend is always an option and the British Parachute Association have been quite clever on this one because they now have their own credit card which gives a twelve month interest free balance transfer facility and twelve months no interest on all shopping. It's underwritten by MBNA and BPA gets a small percentage commission, which seems pretty fair to me. When you think about it, the money you save on interest fees alone could pay for your AFF ground school and level 1.

Always remember that you need to meet minimum monthly payments and you should only enter the credit card option if you have a regular income., either from employment or self employment and by the way, you do have insurance against unemployment don't you?

The more you borrow the more they'll lend you

This always seems crazy, but its always worked for me and now I have a credit rating which allows me to borrow over two hundred thousand dollars  because I have an excellent credit rating. If you find your self in a position to get a credit card, then you also  have a way to build up a your own credit rating by regularly paying your bills each month. This doesn't mean you have to pay the whole balance each month, juts the minimum payments will do and perhaps a little extra payment on top will indicate to the credit card companies that you're a relatively savvy manager of your own personal lfinances.

Playing 'in and through' with your capital balances

Occasionally the credit card companies send offers for zero percent balance transfers, sometimes for six, nine or maybe even twelve months. This can be really useful to take the pressure off, perhaps if you know you have a deal coming in, or are starting a new job or maybe you are planning on an endownment policy  maturing. A few months interest free can really take the pressure off and I've been using these for over fifteen years to help my own cashflows. However the credit card companies are getting tougher on these little sweeteners because now they charge a 'setup fee' which is usually 2.5% to 3.0% of the total amount transfered. It can still be very useful, but it stops it from being a complete 'no brainer' and now you need to work out how much you're saving on the deal before making the transfer.

Watch out for the dirty trick from Barclaycard

Here's how it goes, follow me through with this one;

When you initiate your balance transfer you pay a 2.5% 'administration fee.

Barclaycard shows this adminstration fee as a 'sale transaction'.

Look in the small print and see that the sale transactions are not covered by the zero percent interest deal.

Barclaycard on their supposed 'interest free' deal, start charging you interest from day one on  the administration fee.

You call through to the customer service number each time your monthly statement comes in and the nice lady in the Mumbai call centre  is unable to help you, so she politely repeats your problem back to you again, and passes you to one of her colleagues who gets you to tell her all over again. After a while you ask to escalate this to a supervisor who 'will call you back in 24-48 hours'. When the supervisor calls you back, they don't have the details (and they'll probably call you while you're out and you probably don't have your barclaycard file with you). In short, you eventually stop banging your head against the brick wall and give up. This is one of the dirty tricks they rely on to charge you more than they should do.

Don't let this put you off, it just means you have to be more vigilant when it comes to selecting your credit card companies. There are still some good credit card companies around, and you just need to take your time to read the small print and do an internet search to check through any perceived or reported problems, and then go through them to see if they are one offs or consistent themes. It's time consuming but it pays off.

Watch out for the indentity stealers

As you make regular payments of your credit cards (and other loans) you'll build up a good strong credit rating and you have more 'assets' which can effectively be stolen. For my own side I keep a good close eye on these assets using a credit checking agency which alerts me if any changes happen on my account, such as new credit card applications, loans or large withdrawals. I'd recommend you do the same and join one of these credit checking agencies.

Credit card working capital management is not for all

I really have to close this section with a health warning - "Using credit cards to manage your finances is really only or those with a lot of self control and if you have any tendency towards 'sticking your head in the sand' when it comes to managing payments and finances then using credit cards to manage your finances is almost certainly not for you.

Good luck

Even with the best planning in the world, we all need a little luck. Let us know how things go for you. If you have any suggestions or comments about credit cards place in cashflow management, we'll be pleased to have you blog it here. If you don't feel like blogging, or don't want to 'gopublic' then drop me an email and I'll be happy to make your comments anonimously.